﻿NATURAL 
  RUBBER 
  — 
  COOK 
  379 
  

  

  ditions 
  are 
  restored 
  through 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  tree 
  crops. 
  Many 
  areas 
  of 
  

   miscellaneous 
  second-growth 
  forests 
  in 
  tropical 
  America, 
  represent- 
  

   ing 
  various 
  stages 
  of 
  reforestation, 
  are 
  formed 
  mostly 
  of 
  worthless 
  

   trees, 
  which 
  might 
  be 
  replaced 
  by 
  rubber 
  forests 
  to 
  great 
  advantage. 
  

   Guatemala, 
  for 
  example, 
  would 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  a 
  rather 
  populous 
  

   country, 
  compared 
  with 
  many 
  other 
  regions, 
  yet 
  is 
  estimated 
  recently 
  

   to 
  have 
  only 
  10 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  land 
  in 
  cultivation. 
  Complete 
  clear- 
  

   ing 
  and 
  cultivation 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  necessary 
  for 
  replacing 
  the 
  present 
  

   mixed 
  growth 
  of 
  waste 
  areas 
  with 
  rubber 
  trees, 
  such 
  as 
  Castillo, 
  or 
  

   Funtumia, 
  which 
  are 
  somewhat 
  tolerant 
  of 
  thin 
  soils 
  and 
  drought 
  

   conditions. 
  Such 
  trees 
  may 
  furnish 
  wood, 
  fiber, 
  or 
  other 
  useful 
  ma- 
  

   terials 
  as 
  byproducts, 
  and 
  also 
  may 
  shelter 
  the 
  early 
  stages 
  of 
  Para 
  

   rubber 
  trees. 
  

  

  RUBBER 
  AS 
  A 
  GARDEN 
  CROP 
  

  

  Rubber 
  trees 
  need 
  to 
  be 
  appreciated 
  and 
  popularized 
  in 
  all 
  the 
  tropi- 
  

   cal 
  countries. 
  Although 
  the 
  tendency 
  to 
  think 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  large 
  plan- 
  

   tations 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  escape, 
  careful 
  consideration 
  will 
  make 
  it 
  apparent 
  

   that 
  the 
  Para 
  rubber 
  tree 
  is 
  remarkably 
  well 
  adapted 
  to 
  production 
  

   on 
  a 
  small 
  scale. 
  Large 
  plantations 
  operated 
  by 
  contract 
  labor 
  as 
  

   in 
  the 
  East 
  Indies 
  may 
  be 
  very 
  difficult 
  to 
  establish 
  in 
  tropical 
  America, 
  

   but 
  other 
  systems 
  of 
  production 
  may 
  be 
  practicable. 
  Millions 
  of 
  

   people 
  in 
  tropical 
  America 
  are 
  landowners 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  of 
  

   small 
  "gardens," 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  called, 
  where 
  root 
  crops, 
  green 
  vege- 
  

   tables, 
  potherbs, 
  and 
  fruit 
  trees 
  are 
  grown, 
  often 
  with 
  poultry 
  or 
  other 
  

   farm 
  animals, 
  to 
  meet 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  family 
  needs 
  or 
  to 
  provide 
  a 
  small 
  

   surplus 
  for 
  sale 
  or 
  exchange. 
  

  

  Replacing 
  the 
  native 
  gardens 
  with 
  rubber 
  plantations, 
  or 
  removing 
  

   the 
  garden 
  people 
  to 
  rubber 
  estates, 
  may 
  be 
  practicable 
  to 
  a 
  limited 
  

   extent, 
  but 
  enlisting 
  the 
  interest 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  to 
  add 
  rubber 
  trees 
  to 
  

   their 
  gardens 
  may 
  supplement 
  other 
  lines 
  of 
  production, 
  or 
  even 
  ex- 
  

   ceed 
  them, 
  once 
  the 
  advantages 
  of 
  small-scale 
  production 
  are 
  worked 
  

   out 
  and 
  understood. 
  

  

  With 
  a 
  small 
  planting, 
  as 
  a 
  dozen 
  or 
  a 
  hundred 
  rubber 
  trees, 
  col- 
  

   lecting 
  the 
  latex 
  is 
  relatively 
  light 
  and 
  pleasant 
  work, 
  to 
  be 
  done 
  in 
  the 
  

   cool 
  of 
  the 
  morning, 
  and 
  shared 
  without 
  detriment 
  by 
  women 
  and 
  

   children. 
  No 
  other 
  labor 
  is 
  likely 
  to 
  be 
  more 
  remunerative 
  to 
  the 
  small 
  

   landowner 
  than 
  tapping 
  rubber 
  trees 
  for 
  an 
  hour 
  or 
  two 
  a 
  day. 
  The 
  

   rubber 
  harvest 
  does 
  not 
  spoil 
  if 
  other 
  work 
  is 
  more 
  pressing. 
  The 
  

   requirements 
  of 
  tools 
  and 
  equipment 
  for 
  extracting 
  the 
  latex 
  and 
  

   preparing 
  the 
  rubber 
  are 
  extremely 
  simple 
  and 
  cheap. 
  The 
  Para 
  rub- 
  

   ber 
  tree 
  is 
  extremely 
  well 
  suited 
  to 
  the 
  purposes 
  of 
  the 
  small 
  producer, 
  

   and 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  tree 
  that 
  will 
  yield 
  rubber 
  by 
  regular 
  tapping. 
  

  

  Castilla 
  trees 
  are 
  often 
  planted 
  or 
  allowed 
  to 
  grow 
  in 
  dooryards 
  in 
  

   Mexico 
  and 
  Central 
  America, 
  and 
  tapped 
  occasionally, 
  but 
  the 
  latex 
  

  

  